Onychectomy (Cat Declaw)

Onychectomy (declawing) is a surgical procedure removing the nails (3rd phalanx) on both front paws. It is usually performed on strictly indoor cats who show scratching behavior to furniture or people. An alternative to declawing is the application of SoftPaws, vinyl caps glued onto the nails every 3-5 weeks. We recommend surgery be performed at approximately 6 months of age.

This surgery includes the following:

• Pre-surgical patient evaluation
• Pre-anesthetic blood screen (includes complete blood count and chemistry panel)
• Pre-surgery and post-surgery pain relief injections
• Ring block local anesthetic above paws
• Inhalant gas anesthesia
• Full patient monitoring during surgery: cardiac (EKG), respiratory, pulse oximetry, and body temperature
• Bair Hugger forced warm air heating during surgery to prevent hypothermia
• Surgical recovery in incubator cage
• Post-operative monitoring by the surgical nurse until awake
• Telephone report following completion of surgery
• Hospitalization-2 days
• Patient exam and pain relief medication during hospitalization
• Follow-up telephone call from hospital staff
• Laser Surgery
  Due to the pain associated with traditional scalpel blade surgery, declawing is now performed only with laser. Laser surgery minimizes pain, swelling, and bleeding. Your cat will be much more comfortable following surgery and have a more rapid recovery.

Return to Elective Surgeries page.